Question I

[Jonetta]

Sarah asks why people can’t accept that a man and woman could just be friends. Can they?

[Phrynne]

I don't think we are ever totally convinced. We try to accept it but there is always this little niggle underneath. And Sarah and Frank are a very good example of why people think there must be something going on. There is!!!

[Jonetta]

Especially when they’re so well suited.

I’m still on the fence about it. I had a guy as one of my best friends in college and would have sworn this could be. However, friends and family later told me he was crazy about me. *sigh*

Just don’t know.

[Phrynne]

And I don't believe any of us would be totally comfortable with our partner having a close friend of the opposite sex. Not totally!

[Lauren]

Ah, the Harry and Sally moment!

[Veronica]

Well, if one of them is gay and the other hetero.... :-)

It's a good question. The same thing happened to me, Jonetta, with a guy I swore was just a friend. So, I have no good answer either.

But Sarah and Frank are definitely NOT just friends! There's an itch for more. lol

[Jonetta]

Glad I’m not alone in this:) Never suspected a thing. Wish I’d known because the guy I was dating at the time turned out to be a cheating loser.

[~ Giulia ~]

I like to think they can be just friends. But I've always been dense about these things so I can't give a reliable answer.

Of course Sarah and Frank aren't just friends so in this case people are right in believing there's more.

[Charlene]

I think it's possible that a man and a woman can be friends, but it would be extremely difficult to be the partner/spouse of one of them.

The closest to reality is times when men and women are partners in police work. Then a spouse might not have such a tough time, especially if they are friends with each other, and all are truly attached to the correct person. Is this convoluted enough?

[Christina T]

I've known some people who have successfully been best friends with the opposite sex. Of course in many cases the girl was one of those who rarely had a girl friend. She was just a guys girl and got along better with men than women.

In Sarah and Frank's case they are just fooling themselves but when we put the time frame of the story into the mix it's a big large NO. Women could not just be friends with men because the inability for society to allow women to "be one of the guys". It wasn't until the latter part of the century when women were "allowed" to be independent which included choosing who to be friends with. Society even dictated what women friends a woman could have. It was unheard of to have a woman friend from a different station in life. Poor people couldn't be friends with rich people. Or different ethnicities as well.

[Veronica]

Christina T wrote: "In Sarah and Frank's case they are just fooling themselves but when we put the time frame of the story into the mix it's a big large NO. "

An excellent point. The societal expectations of the period definitely have to be factored in.